vol. 16, issue 2 smaa journal

Shudokan Martial Arts Association ▪ PO Box 6022, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-6022 http://smaa-hq.com/ ▪ [email protected] ▪ 1-734-645-6441

SMAA JOURNAL

ANNOUNCEMENTS OBJECTIVES OF THE SMAA 1. To promote and aid in the growth of Japan’s

traditional arts and ways.

2. To assist the public in achieving spiritual growth and physical development through budo/bujutsu.

3. To further friendship and understanding between Asian and Western martial artists.

4. To establish goodwill and harmony among martial artists of various systems.

5. To offer Western martial artists access to legitimate budo/bujutsu organizations and teachers in Japan.

6. To give practitioners of authentic budo/bujutsu recognition for their years of devotion to these arts.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS ▪ Karl Scott Sensei ▪ Nicklaus Suino Sensei ▪ H. E. Davey Sensei

Editor: H. E. Davey Sensei Assistant Editor: Troy Swenson Sensei Webmaster: Don Prior Sensei General Manager: Nicklaus Suino Sensei

Vol . 16, I s sue 2

2011 DUES REMINDER

SMAA dues should have been paid on the first of January, 2011. Please make a point of sending your payment to our Michigan headquarters on or before this date. Prompt payment helps the SMAA to run smoothly, and it reduces the amount of labor and cost associated with sending late dues notices.

SMAA PATCHES

The SMAA HQ is selling official SMAA patches for your gi. They’re great looking patches that embody the spirit and honor instilled in members of our group. They won’t fade or bleed when you bleach them, and yet we’ve been able to keep the cost down. Each patch is basically a 3½ inch circle featuring our logo shown below.

Our patches were produced using state of the artdigitizing and ultra-modern technology to createan accurate and attractive embroidered emblem.They feature tight stitches, sharp detail, cleanlettering, and top quality craftsmanship. There’sno jagged stitching, but we’ve still got plenty ofstitches so that the background doesn’t showthrough.

SMAA JournalVol . 16, I s sue 2

The patch should be worn on the left side of yourgi jacket near your heart. SMAA policy mandates only one patch per uniform to maintain the sense of dignity associated with traditional budo.

These new patches are a great way to show yourrespect and enthusiasm for our group; we hope allof our members will order at least one. And thebest part is the patches are only $5.00 (US) each!(E-mail [email protected] about specialshipping for international orders.) To order, justsend a check or money order made out to “SMAA”to:

SMAA HQ PO Box 6022

Ann Arbor, MI 48106-6022 USA

SMAA ONLINE STORE

Don’t forget that the SMAA has a great onlinestore, where you can purchase official SMAAmerchandise.

All proceeds go to support our nonprofit group,and you can find some great deals on shirts, hats,stickers, mouse pads, and a bunch of other funstuff. Go here to check it out:

http://www.cafepress.com/shudokan/

SMAA EUROPE SEMINAR WITH SUZUKI KUNIO SENSEI Great news! John Evans Sensei, SMAA SeniorAdvisor, will host an official SMAA Europe Seminarin London this summer. The featured instructor willbe Suzuki Kunio Sensei, Hanshi and eighth dan inNakamura Ryu swordsmanship. Suzuki Sensei isone of the highest ranking martial artists in Japan,if not the world, and he is a direct student of thefounder of Nakamura Ryu. He is also a member ofthe elite SMAA Board of Advisors and one of severalSMAA officials living in Japan. This is the first timeSuzuki Sensei will teach at an SMAA event.

SMAA members will receive a 10% discount on thistwo day August event. Attendance is limited, so getyour registration form and fee in early. Don't missyour chance to study the art of the samurai swordwith one of the top teachers in the SMAA. Here's allyou need to get started:

SMAA Europe Seminar

Subject: Nakamura Ryu battodo

Teacher: Suzuki Kunio Sensei, Hanshi/eighth dan

Dates & Times: 20th /21st August, 10am -5pm(both days)

Location: City of London Academy, Islington

Prebend Street, Islington London, N1 8PQ

Cost: £120 (including test cutting materials).

Contact: E-mail John Evans Sensei at info@battodo-

fudokan.co.uk for registration materials.

WE’RE ON FACEBOOK The SMAA has its own Facebook page. Drop byhttp://www.facebook.com/ShudokanMartialArtsAssociation to get the latest SMAA news. Check out thecool photo albums featuring top SMAA teachers.And become a fan of our new Facebook page, soyou don’t miss out on all the latest SMAA activities.

Not a Facebook member? Don’t worry; registrationis safe, easy, and you’ll have lots of fun once youhave your own Facebook page.

A NOTE TO SMAA MEMBERS We have recently become aware of at least oneother martial arts group that uses the acronym“SMAA.” Please note that the Shudokan Martial ArtsAssociation is not affiliated with any other group ororganization that uses SMAA to identify itself.Though we do not believe any careful observerwould confuse our thoughtful, traditional approachwith that of another organization, we suggest that

SMAA Journal Vol . 16, I s sue 2

you be sure to type in “Shudokan Martial ArtsAssociation” when seeking information about ourassociation.

Our website can be found at http://www.smaa-hq.com/ and our Facebook page athttp://www.facebook.com/ShudokanMartialArtsAssociation.

JMAC ANNIVERSARY

Nicklaus Suino Sensei's Japanese Martial ArtsCenter celebrated its fifth anniversary in Ann Arbor,Michigan on June 25. JMAC benefits from SuinoSensei’s decades of traditional budo training. SuinoSensei began studying Kodokan judo in 1968.During that time, he first met Ito Kazuo Sensei,judo tenth dan, and Sato Shizuya Sensei, ninth dan.Sato Sensei was to become an instructor to SuinoSensei twenty years later, in 1988, when he movedto Tokyo to practice judo. During his years inJapan, he also studied Sato Sensei’s system ofmodern jujutsu, and he practiced Muso JikidenEishin Ryu iaido with Yamaguchi Katsuo Sensei,tenth dan.

After years of studying judo and practicing withsome of the best known judoka in the world,including Walter Todd Sensei, Sato NobuyukiSensei, Yamashita Yasuhiro Sensei, Mike Swain

Sensei, and many others, Suino Sensei returned toAnn Arbor to open the Japanese Martial ArtsCenter, where judo is taught both as a competitivesport and a lifetime personal development pursuit.Jujutsu and iaido are practiced at JMAC as well, witha similar emphasis on developing both mind andbody.

Suino Sensei believes that every human beingshould have a mission, and that the traditionalmartial arts (with the character developmentaspects intact) are a superb method for finding andrefining your personal mission. Through safe,systematic practice of judo, or one of the othertraditional Japanese martial arts, JMAC studentsgradually improve their health, self-confidence,and ability to perceive and adapt to reality.

SMAA members from various locations startedarriving at JMAC on Saturday at 3:30 PM. Theanniversary event included a promotion ceremonyfor JMAC members who had successfully completedprior kyu and dan tests. Following the presentationof official SMAA rank certificates, everyone enjoyeda potluck party. The JMAC annual potluck hasbecome world famous among those "in the know."Each year, JMAC members have raised the bar bybringing better and more exciting dishes from theirhome cultures or old family recipes. Thanks to allthe SMAA members that participated in this funevent and congratulations to JMAC members thatreceived new SMAA ranks.

Suino Sensei teaching the traditional iaido of Yamaguchi Katsuo Sensei

Nicklaus Suino Sensei with his iaido teacher Yamaguchi Katsuo Sensei, tenth dan


The successful globalization of judo as a majorOlympic sport has caused its historical roots—bound in Eastern spiritualism—to be minimized tobetter resonate to the masses. Some argue that, forthe good of the sport, judo’s Shinto pedigree beeliminated all together. Others feel passionate thatwithout spiritualism, the thing we call judo is notjudo at all—relegated to a kind of pajamawrestling.

Diverse opinions aside, it is difficult to concludethat judo is not somehow different from most othersports. Notwithstanding its indisputable historicalroots, what is it that makes judo different?

This question was posed to an admittedly stackeddeck of judo devotees who occupy the old-boy’scorner of the dai-dojo (‘large dojo”) at Tokyo’sKodokan. The most remarkable response was; “Ifyou need to ask the question, you likely have nohope of ever understanding the answer.” While thisretort came as close to the truth allowable giventhe fuzzy nature of budo spirituality, it did notsatisfy my Western wiring, so I pressed for more.

“Judo is more a religion than a sport,” stated onegrizzled eighty-year-old whose recent strokeforced a talon-like grip on his tiny beer glass. “All Icare about is dying on the mat. What happens afterthat doesn't matter,” he said, staring fearlessly intothe abyss.

“The only real friends I have ever had in my life arejudoists.” says a spry seventy-two-year-old formercop. “We understand each other and don’t need toomany words to communicate.” He also agrees thathis preferred method of cashing out is face downon smelly green tatami (“mats”).

Grasping for telltale threads of logic, I concludedthat the group’s responses seemed to cover two of

the fundamental pillars defining religion:communicating with like-minded people andfinding a way to accept the finality of death. Couldthis bring us closer to defining what makes judodifferent? Is this why so many people in Japanpractice judo into their ripe old age? Are thesepeople practitioners of a spiritual kind of judo,different from what many others practice?

Akimaru Koho, M.D., Ph.D., Kodokan sixth dan, anda professor at Nippon Medical School thinks so. Heis seriously contemplating the creation of a JudoHospice, complete with ripe tatami and a redlantern beer joint. Just the mention of dying in ajudo hospice brings strong emotions and interestfrom aging sensei and family members alike. Theymay not understand Grandpa’s passion, but theyknow that it is real, and that it beats thealternatives—hands down.

In the end, judo will mean different things todifferent people and may even evolve as we age.Perhaps only those who patiently sow and cultivatea lifetime of experience achieve the more spiritual

TO DIE ON THE MAT By Mark A. Colby

Nicklaus Suino Sensei, SMAA Judo Division Director, performing the tomoe nage technique


aspects. And perhaps it is only natural for theyoung to dismiss any deeper meaning, focusinginstead on rubbing an opponent’s face in the mat.Little do young judoka know that, one day, it maybe this same mat on which they too yearn to gasp

their last pungent lungful.

About the Author: Mark Colby Sensei, SMAA Senior Advisor, has decades of training in judo, much of it in Japan, where he’s lived for the last 30 years. Two of his biggest wins were the USA-Canadian Championships in 1981 and the 1985 Maroto Kaigai Championship in Japan. He was the Grand Champion at both events, winning every weight class. This is a feat usually accomplished by heavyweight competitors. Colby Sensei is of average build. His wins harkens back to the era of classical judo when smaller judoka competed without weight classes and sometimes won overall. The Maroto Kaigai Championships is an important event, and as a result, Colby Sensei was featured on NHK television in Japan. A Kodokan trained and certified black belt holder, he is the author of The Japan Healthcare Debate, Negotiating the Gray Maze, and The Boxer Gate.

There are three aspects to physical training inbudo, whether you train for self-defense, physicalfitness, or character development. These are asfollows: (1) learning new techniques; (2) masteringthe techniques you know; and (3) applying thetechniques in action. All three aspects are critical ifyou want to become a really good martial artist.

LEARNING NEW TECHNIQUES

Because you come to a new art with no knowledge,the early part of your martial arts career will bemostly filled with learning new techniques.Typically, you are taught a throw, joint lock, swordcut, or strike—you practice it a bit until you havememorized the pattern—your teacher helps yourefine it a bit—and then you are taught another

new technique. This is the same whether you studyaikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, karate-do, or kendo.Because students get a lot of attention at thisstage, and because of the excitement and interestof constantly learning new things, many studentsget addicted to learning new techniques. If theydon't manage to move past this addiction, they willnever become accomplished martial artists;instead, they will become collectors of skills—dilettantes with no deep understanding of their art.In fact, learning new techniques is the smallest partof the career of a true martial arts master.

MASTERING TECHNIQUES

In the traditional martial arts, we don't reallybelieve in the idea that a person can truly “master”

Colby Sensei has studied classic judo in Japan for over 30 years

THE THREE ASPECTS OF TRAININGBy Nicklaus Suino


a technique or an art. Instead, we believe thatbecoming great at martial arts is a lifetime'scommitment, and that we must constantly revisitthe techniques we know to try to deepen ourunderstanding of them. What we mean when wesay that the second aspect of physical training is“mastering techniques” is that we constantlypractice what we know, always trying to be better.We analyze each part of a technique, figure outwhat could be done better, practice that part, thenput the whole thing back together and try to makeit more efficient, more effective, or more beautiful.If we keep at it long enough with an enthusiasticspirit, we can eventually become quite good at ourchosen art.

APPLYING TECHNIQUES IN ACTION

Once we have achieved some degree of understanding of our martial arts skills, we can apply them in action. In judo, this is done in randori (free practice), in karate-do we engage in kumite (sparring), in iaido, we simply repeat our forms again and again, seeking to deepen our ability to focus on and execute the detailed form requirements. Through this application, we learn what works well and what needs more work. We can go back to the mastery stage to analyze and perfect skills that don't work well in application, try

them out again, and continue this back and forth process until we succeed at throwing a challenging partner (or whatever our milestone is at the time). This eventually makes us very capable at self-defense, demonstrating, kumite, or whatever our goal for training may be.

Having good training partners is critical for successin application of techniques. Dojo mates who careabout your success can make all the difference.They will apply their strength in the right measureso that you can attempt your technique anddetermine whether or not it works. They cancomment on how your technique looks or feels tothem, allowing you to use the feedback to makeyourself better. As you improve, they can increasetheir strength and speed, helping you to refineyour skills even more. There are very few betterfriends than a really good training partner.

About the Author: Nicklaus Suino Sensei is one ofthe founding members of the SMAA and thegroup’s General Manager. He holds a fourth dan injujutsu, a sixth dan in judo, and a seventh dan iniaido. He is also a yudansha (“person with dan”) inkyudo archery, aikido, and karate-do. Fluent inJapanese, he lived for several years in Tokyo, andhe returns to Japan on a regular basis to further hisstudy of judo, jujutsu, and iaido.

My dog has a favorite chase toy. It’s a furry squirreldoll that squeaks. I put it on a string and yank it onthe ground in front of her, squeeze it in my fist soit squeaks, and twirl it around me. My dog goescrazy over it. The squeaks arouse the predatorinstinct in her, and she just goes insanely happychasing it, chomping on it with her teeth, andtrying to shake it and tear it limb from limbwhenever she’s able to catch it.

So the other night I was trying to get my studentsto kiai; to “shout,” during their kata, and I didn’thear a lion’s roar. I heard a squeaky toy squeal. Notgood. Rather than disturbing the attacker’s focuswith their kiai, I told my club members that theirkiai would encourage an attacker’s animalistic,predatory instincts. That’s the total opposite ofwhat a kiai is supposed to do.

KIAI: IS YOUR KIAI LIKE A LION’S ROAR OR A SQUEAKY TOY? By Wayne Muromoto


In Japanese, kakegoe is a generic “shout” or loudyell. A kiai, however, is a special kind of yell (if it’sa yell at all… more on this later). You can begin todecipher what a kiai is by analyzing its Chinesecharacters. The word kiai is made of twocharacters: ki, or “spirit” or “inner strength;” the kiof aikido; and –ai, which is from the verb “to meet,to come together, to gather.” So the kiai is not justacoustic; it is when everything comes together inone unified action: mind, body, spirit, breath. Ifdone well, the forceful exhalation of breath istimed to coincide with the apex of physicalexertion, technical execution, focus and timing.

If your center of gravity is lowered, if the energyfeels like it is coming from the lower spiritualcenter called the seika tanden (a few inches belowthe navel and in about two inches or so), then youare “centered” and are able to exert a great deal ofunified, coordinated action through your body. Thisunified action is expressed by a forceful exhalationof breath through the kiai. If the yell comes fromthe full diaphragm, the entire lung capacity of yourbody, it should sound full-bodied and deep, likethe roar of a lion. That’s the theory, at least.

If, however, your kiai sounds like a squeaky toy,then there’s a whole mess of things just wrong.Squeaky toy kiai happens when the breathing isconstricted. Like when I go to the dentist and thefirst drill starts whirring… I squeal in fear. I’m nottaking deep breaths, not using my entirediaphragm to fill up my lungs and exhale. Theshoulders are bunching up to help you breathe, notyour diaphragm.

Compare it to when your shoulders are relaxed,and it feels like you are breathing “from thestomach.” Then you are using the entire chestdiaphragm to breathe, using your full capacity, andcontrolling your musculature properly, withoutconstricting your arm movements by tightening upyour shoulders.

Tightness in the shoulders will constrict thebreathing and lungs. That will lead to a tight,squeaky yell. That’s why I could immediately tellmy students weren’t breathing correctly and theirmovements were coming from their shoulders, notfrom their hips and legs.

Thousands of years of evolution have led predatoranimals to recognize the difference in a preyanimal’s vocalizations. If my dog stalks a toy, and itsqueaks, oh boy; she thinks it’s a scared little furrycreature, and she will pounce on it. Consider thedifference between a dog itching for a fight toprotect its territory and a dog that is scared andyelping, running away with its tail between its legs.They will have totally different vocalizations.

The same goes for the human animal. That’s why inmartial arts, kiai are not meant to be squeals offear, which are high-pitched with tightlyconstricted vocal chords. They are meant to be likethe roar of a lion or tiger, not the squeal of asqueaky toy.

Granted, people with different body types will havedifferent vocal ranges. Women as a whole may have

The author teaching Takeuchi Ryu


a higher pitched kiai than men. But within thoseparameters, any kiai should sound like it’s comingfrom the lower seika tanden, not from the upperthird of one’s lungs, whatever the pitch. A littleChihuahua will have a higher pitched bark than aGerman Shephard, of course, but you can tell wheneither of them are really angry and ready to biteyour ankle compared to when they are whimpering.It’s a whole different tone and timbre.

Different ryu will have different vowels andvocalizations for kiai. In general, however, mostkiai will have a beginning, middle and end, and willnominally be made of just one vowel. For example,a very common kiai is “Ei!” Even if done quickly, ifyou take it apart, you should notice a shortintroductory moment when the “eee-“ is startingup. Then there’s the middle, which is the apex ofthe kiai, the loudest “EEE!” and finally, as you closeoff your yell, the ending “-i.” Open, start to yell, fullyell, then start to close, and end of yell. If youslowed it down, it would sound almost like “eee-Yay-eee.”

The kiai should NOT trail off, or dribble off intonothingness. It should have a definite end. As oneformer teacher of mine used to say, “You have to‘eat’ your own kiai.’”

So the kiai shouldn’t be a “Yahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”and then you slowly dwindle away into obscuritylike someone falling off a tall cliff.

Neither, however, should it be a too-short yelp.Like screaming “Yip!” quickly. That’s not a full-bodied, good vintage kiai.

In the past, I’ve attended some karate tournamentswhere I’ve heard all sorts of really odd kiai. Thetwo-syllable ones are the most problematic. “Ei-sah!” “Yow-sah!” “Eee-yasa!” (Okay, that last wasthree syllables, but I’ve heard that too.) The worstone I heard was someone literally screaming “Ki-ai”for his kiai. Or, rather, he was yelling “Kee-yah!”What’s next? “Boo-yah!” “Boom-chaka-laka!”??? Youmight as well start yelling the famous ThreeStooges kiai, “Whoop-whoopwhoopwhoopwhoop!”

Obviously, these are not very good kiai becausethey are not one, singular syllable that is extendedover the climax of the action; it’s two or more, andyou thereby end up dividing the strength of thesound among two or more syllables, quite possiblyweakening your singular movement as well.

Most practitioners are used to the kiai thataccompany a climactic movement, as in theperformance of a karate kata. You reach the apexof your exertion in a physical movement and kiai atthe same time. But there are other kinds of kiai.There is a zanshin no kiai (a finalizing kiai that isdone apart from any outward movement), andthere is even a silent kiai that is discussed in suchsystems as aikido and iaido. There are multiple kiaithat accompany two complementary actions doneone after another. There are different kiaiaccording to intent and time of execution during anencounter. My own ryu divides kiai up into an“initial” kiai, an “ongoing” kiai and the zanshin nokiai. The vocalizations are different, and signifydifferent kinds of body movement, with differentpsychological impacts on the attacker.

The author teaching Japanese swordsmanship


The zanshin no kiai may be found in some koryu asa “finishing” kiai to totally destroy the spiritual andpsychic strength of the opponent at the end of akata and is separate and apart from a particularmove or technique. The silent kiai in aikido andiaido is the concept that you don’t necessarily needto yell in order to have kiai; the unification of one’smind, body, spirit and breath is the kiai itself.

The best exercise for kiai is to simply do one’s kataproperly, with the proper kiai in the properlocation. You can also practice kiai alone by sittingand trying to kiai, focusing your attention on howyou sound. You can do this in a group, too, with ateacher leading and the students attempting toimitate the teacher’s kiai per the ryu’s style. Themain objective is not so much how loud you cankiai; it’s to strive for proper tenor and tone of thekiai. It should be low and seem from the seikatanden, not from the shoulders or upper lungs.

This may seem esoteric, but it’s really a basic factin martial arts that a strong kiai not only unifiesone’s own mind, body, spirt and technique, but italso helps in unnerving and defeating one’sopponent. If a kiai can do that, then it has alreadyserved its purpose well. People will grunt, shoutand yell naturally in all sorts of physical exertionsthat require total mind-body focus, such asblocking in football, hitting a baseball, and so on.It’s not really all that far from roots in practicalbody physiology.

On an esoteric level, Mikkyo Buddhism and Shintobelieved in the mystical powers of certain sounds.In Mikkyo, these are called mantra, the mostfamous being the “om” chanted during someBuddhist meditation sessions. Esoteric Shinto hadthe notion of kotodama, words of mystical power,based on the ancient Japanese language. UeshibaMorihei Sensei, the founder of aikido, was abeliever of the effectiveness of kotodama. I suspectthat the more esoteric notions of kiai in martial artswere drawn from and influenced by such religious

and spiritual ideas. Even Western religionsconsidered certain words, such as the name ofGod, to be of great, unnatural power. However, Iwould caution that simply pulling out a pop culturebook on Mikkyo Buddhism, and then attempting tostick some kind of mysterious mumbo jumbo onyour martial arts practice, is probably not a goodidea. The connection is either there or it’s not inyour tradition. And it’s best to leave it at that.

E.J. Harrison, writing at the turn of the 20th Centuryof his experiences in Japan, claimed to have met amaster of kiaijutsu, someone who specialized justin the technique of kiai. The master gave ademonstration by stepping out to his garden andemitting a kiai in the direction of the shrubbery.Birds fell from a tree, unconscious. Then themaster performed another kiai and the birdsawoke, shook themselves out of their stupor, andflew away.

I’m not sure if that’s a true story or not, and I’vereally never met such a kiaijutsu master myself, butI did experience one incident that led me to believethat we shouldn’t totally discount such tales.

The author teaching jujutsu in Honolulu


Once, a student senior to me was teaching a friendand me in a secluded forest, and he started to talkabout using the kiai as a weapon in and of itself.Because we were in an isolated part of a publicforest reserve, he gave me an example of the reallypowerful kiai he had been working on. He turnedaway from us and let loose a kiai at a stand of treessome twenty to thirty yards away. Even with the yelldirected away from us, I felt like my eardrums werenearly pierced, and the birds in the trees bolted upinto flight as if they had been attacked by a hugetree-climbing mountain lion pouncing on thebranches they had been sitting on. My eardrumsrang for quite a few seconds afterwards.

“Well, you don’t have to do this all the time inpractice, but that’s how it should sound if you useit for real,” he said. “If somebody means to do you

harm, you could let loose this kiai in front of hisface and really stop him because it would surprisethe person. If it only stops the person momentarily,at least it will help you to do a counter or runaway.”

My senior’s kiai was truly like that of a roar of atiger or lion. And it sure wasn’t a squeaky toysound.

About the Author: Wayne Muromoto is one of thehighest ranking members of the SMAA JujutsuDivision and a teacher of Bitchuden Takeuchi Ryuas well as Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu iaido. TakeuchiRyu specializes in jujutsu and numerous weapons,and he teaches both arts in Hawaii. He also has aninteresting blog called The Classic Budoka athttp://classicbudoka.wordpress.com/.

AIZU MARTIAL ARTS By H. E. Davey

My wife is a descendent of the Abe samurai family,who were part of the Aizu han, or “clan,” located inthe northern part of Japan’s main island (Honshu).In the 1990s, I made two trips to Japan to researchthe koryu bujutsu, “ancient martial arts,” of theAizu han. I visited the Nisshinkan, an Aizu samuraitraining academy, and the Aizu Buke Yashiki, asamurai mansion, where Saigo Tanomo (an Aizuretainer) lived. I dropped by Tsurugajo Castle andits museum, along with other pertinent locations,and interviewed the staff and historians of thesevarious institutions about Aizu samurai history andbujutsu. This brief article will give SMAA membersa peek into the martial past of one of Japan’scelebrated samurai strongholds. I think this articleis timely given the recent devastation of theFukushima area by earthquake, tsunami, andradiation. I hope it will inspire SMAA members todonate to disaster relief for Japan, while it informsreaders about the Aizu role in Japanese martialhistory.

THE AIZU HAN The area of Aizu and the present-day city of Aizu-Wakamatsu are situated in northern Japan'sbeautiful mountainous country in Fukushimaprefecture. Some of Japan's most awe-inspiring

Tsurugajo Castle


scenery is near Mt. Bandai and Lake Inashiro in theAizu area. Aizu-Wakamatsu is a castle town thatprospered in the Edo period. During this 250 yearperiod, Japan was ruled by the shogun, who can bethought of as a kind of generalissimo of feudallords. A little over 100 years ago, the Boshin CivilWar broke out between the west side clans (withSatsuma-Choshu as the main force) and the eastside clans (with Aizu as the main force).

The Boshin War was fought from 1868 to 1869between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunateand those seeking to return power to the Emperor.The conflict found its origins in unhappinessamong numerous nobles and young warriors withthe shogunate's handling of foreigners after theopening of Japan during the previous decade. Anassociation of southern samurai, particularly thedomains of Choshu and Satsuma, and courtofficials secured control of the imperial court andinfluenced Emperor Meiji. Tokugawa Yoshinobu,the shogun, realizing the futility of hiscircumstances, abdicated power to the emperor.Tokugawa had hoped that by doing this, theTokugawa house could survive and be part of thefuture government.

However, military actions by imperial forces,partisan conflict in Edo, and an imperial decreeabolishing the house of Tokugawa, led Yoshinobuto attempt to seize the emperor's court in Kyoto.The tide quickly turned in favor of the more up todate imperial faction, and after battles culminatingin the surrender of Edo, Yoshinobu alsosurrendered. Those loyal to Tokugawa retreated tonorthern Honshu and eventually Hokkaido. Defeatat the Battle of Hakodate broke this final holdout,and imperial rule was supreme throughout Japan,ending the military part of the Meiji Restoration.

AIZU AND THE BOSHIN WAR Although the Aizu han and other clans struggledvaliantly against the west side clans, gradually, allof Aizu's allied clans were defeated until Tsurugajo

Castle, and the castle town itself, became the laststronghold. (The five-story Tsurugajo Castle, or"The Crane Castle," was built by the feudal lordAshina Naomori in 1384.)

During the last weeks of the Boshin Civil War, theshogun abdicated. At this date, Daimyo MatsudairaKatamori in Aizu, who had entrenched himself inTsurugajo with his retainers, was attacked by thewest. (A daimyo was a kind of feudal lord.)

About this time, two groups of young people,trained in Aizu martial arts were organized. Thefirst group, known as the Byakkotai, was a squadconsisting of sixteen and seventeen year-old boys.While the second group, the Joshigun, was a troopof young girls. Feeling anxious over Matsudaira'ssafety during the assault, the Byakkotai returned toAizu from another battle front to find their town inflames. Thinking that their city and Tsurugajo hadbeen lost, they responded in the most heroic wayavailable to them as bushi—“warriors”—byperforming seppuku, or “ritual disembowelment.”Even today, visitors come to the site of their suicideon Mt. Iimori to pay their respects.

It is ironic that Tsurugajo itself was not actually onfire, and that the battle was not yet over, and wouldcontinue for another four weeks. However, theresolve of many Aizu families was so great, thatduring this final month, the bushi wives andchildren committed seppuku as well. In this way,the warriors wouldn’t have to worry about thembeing captured, be concerned of what wouldbecome of their families if they were killed inbattle, or in any other way be hindered in theirstruggle. In the home of Saigo Tanomo, the elderadvisor of the Aizu han, 21 bodies of those thathad committed seppuku, or hara-kiri, were found.Those who remained in the castle, predominantlychildren and senior citizens, also committedsuicide rather than surrender. Aizu-Wakamatsu,the battlefield that ended the era of the bushi, wasdrenched in blood. (Even in 1995, when I visited


Tsurugajo, I saw a few Japanese tourists discreetlymoved to tears by the story of the Aizu bushi andthe Byakkotai—the tragic heroes of Aizu-Wakamatsu.)

In America, the inaugural transcontinental railwayhad just opened for business in 1869. The aboveepisode took place the preceding autumn and canbe thought of as marking a pivotal moment inJapanese history.

AIZU MARTIAL ARTS Many martial systems, or ryu, were taught andpracticed within the Aizu han. Perhaps the mostwell-known tradition to have connections to Aizu isthe Daito Ryu, which will be explored shortly.

When conducting research on most koryu bujutsusystems, the average Japanese historian willimmediately reach for one book—the Bugei RyuhaDaijiten. Published after years of research byWatatani Kiyoshi and Yamada Tadashi, this massivereference work, consisting of numerous historicalentries about a large number of ryu, is consideredby many to be "the bible of bujutsu research." It’snot perfect, and not every ryu is in it, but it’sextremely useful. Unfortunately, like manylegitimate works on Japanese bujutsu, it has neverbeen published in English.

Aizu martial arts are briefly outlined in the sectionon Daito Ryu:

Daito-ryu (aiki, jujutsu, sword, two-sword)

Daito-ryu is the root of aikido. Its techniques are divided into three levels: aikinojutsu, aikijujutsu, jujutsu. These techniques were all part of the martial arts (bugei) taught at the Aizu han (fief) Nisshinkan training hall.

. . . Higher level bujutsu (martial methods) were taught within the han, including the Taishi-ryu heiho (martial strategy), Sekiguchi-ha Itto-ryu

(swordsmanship), and various jujutsu styles. The martial arts curriculum were [was] a combination and consolidation of these styles. It was taught to the upper class officials of the han, those who received 500 koku or more per year.

The Bugei Ryuha Daijiten continues:

. . . This consolidated bujutsu was given the name Daito-ryu when the Dai Nihon Butokukai, which organized judo and kendo schools all across Japan, was established in 1899. . . .

. . . In conjunction with the concept that Japan, China and Korea should form a cooperative unit, called the Greater East Asia (or daito) Co-Prosperity Sphere, the ryu (style) was labeled Daito-ryu, to represent the belief that it was, like the consolidation of countries under the Co-Prosperity Sphere, a consolidation of the best martial arts of Japan. The former Aizu han elder advisor (karo) Saigo Tanomo told Takeda Sohkaku [Sokaku] to use this title for the martial arts style.

Nisshinkan Main Gate


It further states:

. . . Tanomo wrote up the form and contents of thestyle's densho (written teachings) for Sohkaku[Sokaku], in which there is a passage that states:"The Daito-ryu was for generations the ancientmartial tradition of the Minamoto clan. ShinraSaburo (Minamoto) Yoshimitsu was one of its majordevelopers. . . ."

THE NISSHINKAN When I arrived in Aizu-Wakamatsu, the first place Iwent to research Aizu bujutsu was the Nisshinkan.It’s impressive even to tourists with littleknowledge of samurai culture. If you are in thearea, it’s worth a stop, because Saigo Tanomo andthe celebrated Aizu bushi—including theByakkotai—were all trained at the Nisshinkan. ThisAizu clan school of the late Edo period wasinstrumental in the development and propagationof martial arts, possibly including what is nowknown as aiki-jujutsu. And at the time I visited,some martial arts were, once again, being taught atthe Nisshinkan to residents of Aizu.

During the late 1700s, Aizu experienced a greatfamine that caused the deaths of many citizens.

During this time, Matsudaira Katanobu, the fifthdaimyo of Aizu, was advised to build a school toreform the educational system, develop thechildren of the Aizu bushi, and thus make the clanstronger in general. It took from 1799 to 1803 tobuild the Nisshinkan.

It is said that the school had the biggest scale andmost rounded program of study of the 300 clanschools in Japan at the time. Even though theschool buildings were destroyed during the BoshinWar, the rebuilt buildings present a truthfulrepresentation of what it used to be like. A pondformerly utilized for suiei-jutsu training purposeswas likewise reconstructed and is referred to as“Japan's oldest swimming pool.” Suiei-jutsu is thesamurai art of swimming and combat in water.(Iwasaki Hisashi Sensei, SMAA Senior Advisor, is thecurrent leader of one ancient system of suiei-jutsu.)

Upon entering the Nisshinkan, the ten-year-oldsons of the Aizu bushi were acquainted with the"Naranu Koto Wa Naranu Mono Desu." This wasliterally a list of "things you must not do," anddescribes the ethics of the Aizu warriors:

1. You must do what your seniors tell you to do.

2. You must bow to your seniors.

3. You must not tell lies.

4. You must not behave in a cowardly manner.

5. You must not bully those weaker than yourself.

6. You must not eat outside.

7. You must not talk to women outside.

Young students studied such subjects as sodoku(“reading”), shodo (“calligraphy”), tenmon-gaku(“astronomy”), Confucianism, swimming whileSuiren-Suiba-Ike: The Nisshinkan Pool


wearing full armor, bugei (“martial arts”), andreishiki-kata (“etiquette”). Etiquette was importantas the warrior class had strict and complex socialrules. Instruction varied from conducting oneself atthe dinner table, to how to hand a sword toanother, to how to commit ritual suicide.

Some historians believe the consolidated systemsof jujutsu, swordsmanship, archery, horsebackriding, and other arts, which were taught only tothe children of high-ranking bushi in the Aizuclan, were called oshikiuchi. (However, otherauthorities contend that the term describes onlythe consolidated unarmed systems.) It is a termcomprised of three characters: the first meaning"secret," the second meaning "style," and the thirdmeaning "inner" or "within." These three charactersmay indicate a system of martial arts that was notopenly revealed to the public and which was taughtonly within the han. It was this combination ofvarious ryu that was known as Aizu oshikiuchi, andwhich some feel evolved into aiki-jujutsu. One ofthe most famous students of the Nisshinkan wasSaigo Tanomo.

SAIGO TANOMO The Minamoto family is one of Japan's most illustrious martial clans and the subject of numerous Japanese books and films. More than one branch of this powerful bushi family existed. A

particular offshoot eventually became known as the Takeda clan. The Aizu Han Hi-oku Oshikiuchi Ni Tsuite also indicates the secret system, which would later be called aiki-jujutsu, was passed down for generations by the Takeda family, beginning with the famous twelfth century general, Shinra Saburo Minamoto Yoshimitsu.

Eventually, Takeda Shingen, one of the mostcelebrated military leaders in Japanese history,became the leader of the Takeda clan. His well-known martial mottoes were: "Quick as the wind,""Peaceful as a forest," "Overwhelming like fire," and"As immovable as a mountain."

After the death of Takeda Shingen in 1573, hisyounger brother, Takeda Kunitsugi, moved fromKai to settle in Aizu province (in the present-dayFukushima area), under the administration ofAshina Moriuji, and became a minor nobleman inthe region of Koike. Members of the Takeda clan ofAizu are said to have been involved in Aizuoshikiuchi for some time. Eventually, the art fellinto the hands of Takeda Soemon (1758-1853), ateacher of Confucian philosophy, bushido, andaiki-in-yo-ho (“the aiki principles and methods ofyin and yang”), who acted as an instructor for thelords of Aizu. The Aizu bushi were trained in thecombined system called oshikiuchi, which wasbased on the spiritual concepts contained in theaiki-in-yo-ho system of philosophy and martialstrategy. Oshikiuchi was derived from Daido Ryu(not to be mistaken for Daito Ryu), which involvedswordsmanship, mounted archery, spear arts, andgunnery/explosives, and Mizuno Shinto Ryu(swordsmanship and jujutsu), as well as otherpreviously mentioned martial arts.

Toward the end of Japan's feudal period, the Aizuwarriors sided with the Tokugawa shogun in a last-ditch, valiant battle against the gun-bearing forcesof the Emperor. The doomed Aizu bushi, includingmuch of the Takeda family, were among the lastwarriors to die in the before mentioned Boshin Civil

In the Nisshinkan compound


Saigo Tanomo (1830-1903)

War; they were overwhelmed by the Imperial forces,who restored the Emperor Meiji's power, andwrenched Japan into the twentieth century.

Following this battle, the perpetuation of Aizuoshikiuchi was passed on to the late TakedaSoemon's student—Saigo Tanomo. (Takeda Soemonis believed to have had two main students: hisgrandchild, Takeda Soyoshi, and Saigo himself.After Soyoshi's death in the war, Saigo taughtTakeda Sokichi, Soyoshi's oldest son, until Sokichi'sown death.)

Saigo, who also lost the majority of his family inthe Boshin War, was a minister of the Aizu fief andthe administrator of Shirakawa castle. He camefrom the Hoshina family of the Aizu clan, whichwas an important family that had participated inthe administration of Aizu clan affairs forgenerations. During the first year of the Meijiperiod (1868), Saigo avoided the Imperial forces byescaping to the northern island of Hokkaido. Hemanaged this retreat on August fifteenth, justbefore Tsurugajo Castle was overwhelmed.

On May 18, 1869, Saigo was in the city ofHakkodate on the island of Hokkaido. He was latercaptured and jailed on the main island of Honshu,where he remained incarcerated as a politicalprisoner for almost one year. Once he was freed,Saigo traveled to the Fukagawa section of Tokyo tolive with his younger brother Yojiro. Yojiro, whowas also involved in politics, was not particularlypleased with the present regime, and joined arevolutionary group plotting to overthrow the newMeiji government. Yojiro was soon arrested andjailed for ten years.

Saigo Tanomo avoided his brother's fate and in1871 settled in the Izu area. He started a smallschool for children, perhaps inspired by theNisshinkan, and taught kan-gaku (“Chinesephilosophy”). According to the text Saigo Tanomo,in 1875 he began to work at the TotokobetsuShinto shrine as a priest. However, a famousrelative of Tanomo's, Saigo Takamori, came intoconflict with Emperor Meiji. As the result, SaigoTanomo lost his position at Totokobetsu in 1878.

Two years later he was rejoined with his formerfeudal lord Matsudaira and they both becamepriests at the Nikko Toshogu Shinto shrine. He isbelieved to have taught oshikiuchi at this shrine.During Meiji 20 (1887), Saigo joined theDaidodanketsu-Undo, which was another politicalmovement, however in two years he was workingagain as a priest, but on this occasion at the ReizanShinto shrine. He is said to have taught oshikiuchiat this location as well. Eventually, Saigo Tanomoreturned to his beloved Aizu, where he lived outthe remainder of his life.

Saigo Tanomo (a.k.a. Hoshina Ginshin and HoshinaChikamori) remains an important player not only inaiki-jujutsu history, but in Japanese politicalhistory in general. According to the book SaigoTanomo, his original family name was Hoshina, butbefore his birth the family name was changed toSaigo. Daimyo Matsudaira of Aizu was from


another branch of the same Hoshina family thatchanged its name to Matsudaira. (When SaigoTanomo returned to Aizu during the last part of hislife, he changed his name back to Hoshina. Thiskind of name changing was not uncommon in oldJapan and still goes on to a limited degree today.)However, complicating matters further, Daito Ryuexpert Kondo Katsuyuki Sensei has indicated:

. . . After that it [aiki-jujutsu] was handed down through the Takeda family as a gotenjutsu (martial art for use inside the palace). On the other hand, in the time of the fourth Tokugawa Shogunate, Ietsuna, Masayuki Hoshina of the Aizu clan, the fourth son of Hidetada, entered the Edo castle as an instructor to the Shogunate family and completed development of the art which came to be known as oshikiuchi. Therefore, the Daito-ryu of the Takeda family and the oshikiuchi of Lord Masayuki Hoshina were transmitted separately. Then in the Meiji period Sokaku Takeda Sensei perfected Daito-ryu by combining the schooloriginated in the Takeda family and the school of the Aizu clan.

According to Donn Draeger Sensei, noted bujutsuauthor and expert, following the abolition of thebushi caste, Saigo taught oshikiuchi, while workingas a priest, to select disciples, including TakedaSokaku and Saigo Shiro.

TAKEDA SOKAKU While serving in his religious capacity at the Nikko Toshogu shrine, Saigo Tanomo met Takeda Sokaku Sensei, son of Takeda Sokichi, who was already an accomplished swordsman of the Ono-ha Itto Ryu,notwithstanding his young age. Despite Saigo's desire, presumably, to pass on the Aizu han teachings of oshikiuchi to Sokaku, Takeda Sokaku had little interest in oshikiuchi, and it would be some time before he would embrace the legacy of his family. (On the other hand, in the Daito Ryu Aiki Budo Ni Tsuite, Takeda's son wrote that Sokaku began studying oshikiuchi under Saigo at

the age of fifteen, while serving as an apprentice priest at the shrine before leaving to study under other martial arts teachers. Other historians have speculated that Sokaku learned oshikiuchi from his father Sokichi as well. It seems fairly certain, however, that Sokaku did practice sumo and Hozoin Ryu Takeda-ha sojutsu under his father's guidance and these arts may have influenced his teaching of Daito Ryu.)

Therefore, Saigo Tanomo attempted totrain other disciples, including an adopted son,Saigo Shiro. (Takeda Tokimune Sensei, son ofTakeda Sokaku, has stated that Saigo Shiro wasactually the illegitimate son of Saigo, who lateradopted him to make matters "official.") However,after moving to Tokyo, Saigo Shiro came under theinfluence of Kano Jigoro Sensei, founder ofKodokan judo. Using his famed yama-arashi, or"mountain storm technique," which stemmed fromoshikiuchi, Saigo Shiro defeated jujutsu-trainedopponents as part of Kano's Kodokan team, andestablished the place of judo in Meiji-era Japan.(Mori Hakaru of Takuma-kai aiki-jujutsu, however,has stated that, in his opinion, no direct evidenceexists to prove that Saigo Shiro learned oshikiuchi.)Saigo Shiro's fame was so great that he wasportrayed in novels, and by renowned directorKurosawa Akira in film as the judo hero SugataSanshiro. However, torn in loyalty between SaigoTanomo and Kano, Saigo Shiro eventuallyabandoned both arts.

In 1898, according to Donn Draeger, Saigo Tanomoand Takeda Sokaku came to a meeting of minds,with the latter either becoming the disciple of SaigoTanomo, or according to Takeda Tokimune'saccount, resuming his training. On May 12, 1898,Takeda Sokaku is said to have received a poemfrom Saigo, which amounted to a kind of teachinglicense. Following Saigo's death, Takeda began torestructure and modify oshikiuchi, and at aroundthis time, some say, created the name "Daito Ryu"as well. (The exact date varies depending on thesource.)


Based on the signatures contained in eimeirokudocuments of Takeda, he may have trained about30,000 students in his lifetime. Among the mostfamous of these direct students was UeshibaMorihei Sensei (1883-1969), founder of aikido.

THE AIZU BUKE YASHIKI Aside from the Nisshinkan, SMAA members that are interested in Aizu martial culture should visit the Aizu Buke Yashiki. The chief building in this facility is the old home of Saigo Tanomo, principal retainer of the Aizu area. It is well worth a trip if you are in Fukushima.

Saigo's residence has an imposing 38 rooms, andthe lifestyle of the era’s bushi can be experiencedand understood by visiting members of the public.Its rooms vary from a sand-box toilet and cypresstub to an elegant reception hall reserved for theLord of Aizu. The compound also includes severaloriginal buildings, including a rice mill andthatched shrine brought from nearby villages. TheAizu History Museum is also situated inside thesame location, and the staff is knowledgeableabout Aizu martial arts and samurai history. ForSMAA members that can read Japanese, a numberof books about Saigo, the Aizu samurai, the BoshinWar, and related topics are available for purchase.

The lavish mansion is built with Japanese cypressand zelkova (a Japanese tree similar to Americanelm). Dolls and furnishings show the life of the

previous residents. The property, which includesthe clan's rice mill and other historic buildings,encompasses a substantial 23,000 square meters.

TRAVELING TO AIZU-WAKAMATSU Fukushima prefecture as a whole isn’t in greatshape since the recent devastation, and right nowisn’t a great time to go there. Residents ofNorthern Honshu are very resilient, and somedaythis area will recover, especially with the help of theinternational community. When it does, you mightlike to visit Aizu-Wakamatsu, home of thefearsome Aizu samurai. You can download abrochure here: http://www.city.aizuwakamatsu.fukushima.jp/e/sight/download.html.

Below is some information about visiting the placesmentioned in this article:

Aizu Buke Yashiki

Admission: 850 yen / Open everyday from 8:30a.m. - 5 p.m. (April - November), 9 a.m. - 4:30p.m. (December - March) / 0242-28-2525

15 minute bus ride from Aizu Wakamatsu Station.Get off at Aizu Buke Yashiki Mae.

Nisshinkan

Admission: 850 yen / Open everyday from 8:30a.m. - 5 p.m. (April - November), 9 a.m. - 4:30p.m. (December - March) / 0242-75-2525

15 minute taxi ride from Aizu Wakamatsu Station.

Tsurugajo Castle

Tsuruga-jo Castle Folk Museum: admission 400yen / Open from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. (entrancecloses at 4:30 p.m.), closed first Monday -Thursday in July, first Tuesday - Thursday inDecember / 0242-27-4005

10 minute bus ride from Aizu Wakamatsu Station.Aizu Buke Yashiki


THE INTANGIBLE SWORDBy Paul Martin

One of the things that we in the West tend to neglect in our study of the Japanese sword is the spiritual aspect. We tend to forget the fact that in Japan the sword is considered a sacred object. We become too involved with questions and kantei (“appraisal”). There are many questions about swords that will never be answered, so we shouldn’t get too wrapped up in it. Instead ofheated debate about who made an unsigned sword, perhaps we should be thinking “So what?” and the question we should be asking is “Is it a good sword?” I think the latter question is more positive and beneficial to the study of swords. The study of the sword should be, in part at least, a spiritual and reverent one if we are to understand the sword fully within its context in Japanese culture. Viewing swords has been associated with contemplation, and as we evaluate our appreciation of the sword we will come to realize the path that we are on and comprehend other aspects of Japanese culture such as; the silence of the tea ceremony, the moment a Zen master writes calligraphy, the natural glaze on a Japanese pot, or

the moment sumo wrestlers face each other in a match, and bear it in mind for our future study. It is here that the essence of Japan resides.

The first time we picked up a sword we wereprobably firstly drawn to the purity of the steel, theelegant shape and the undulating line that wethought was a hamon (the crystalline structurealong the edge of a blade), but was probably justthe hadori polish. Then we noticed the wood grain-like pattern, but could not determine whether itwas well forged or well polished. As we progressedin our study, and our mind was trained, it openedour eyes to be able to eventually see all theactivities within the steel.

It was said that the Emperor Gotoba (1180-1239),who while retired in exile had the Goban Kaji cometo his residence in rotation and forged swords withthem, had the eye of a man of the way. Even thenthe spiritual significance of viewing swords wasrecognized. As in accordance with the precepts ofZen Buddhism, you have to free your mind of the

Get off at Tsurugajo Kitaguchi.

Aizu occupies an important place not merely in mylife (being related through marriage to an Aizusamurai family), but it is also significant due to itsrole in Japan’s feudal past and because of itsconnection to the martial arts of aikido and aiki-jujutsu. I hope this short article has given you aglimpse into the martial history of one of Japan’srenowned samurai strongholds.

References

Wayne Muromoto, "The Mysterious Origins ofDaito-ryu," Furyu, The Budo Journal of ClassicalJapanese Martial Arts and Culture, Honolulu, HI:Tengu Press, 1994

Takeda Tokimune, "History of Daito-Ryu," AikiNews, Tokyo: Aiki News, 1985

Aizu Buke Yashiki, Saigo Tanomo, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan: Aizu Buke Yashiki, n.d.

Aiki News, "Interview with Katsuyuki Kondo," AikiNews, Tokyo: Aiki News, 1988

Donn F. Draeger, Modern Bujutsu and Budo, NewYork: John Weatherhill, Inc., 1974

About the Author: H. E. Davey is one of thefounding members of the SMAA. He holds aseventh dan with the SMAA Jujutsu Division, and heis the editor of the SMAA Journal.


10,000 things that distract you on a daily basis. Itis the same when you are viewing a sword. Youcannot fixate on one aspect. If we concentrate onone aspect our mind stays there, if we concentrateon the hamon it blinds our sight to see the otheraspects. You must keep your mind open and fluid,free to move. If you concentrate on one thing yourmind stops. We must be able to accept the swordas a whole. For example, the sword has been forhundreds of years, an object of illuminating theexistence of Zen. In kendo, we strive to obtain thestate of “no mind” (mushin), This does not mean tobecome mindless, but to free your mind of alldistractive thought. This state, when reached,allows your mind to work freely at great speed;many of the great swordsmen were considered Zenmasters because they could attain this state ofmind, however this state is lost simply byconscious thinking. For example, if you consciouslytry to correct any faults in your technique, i.e.adjusting your right hand, your mind is nowconcentrating on your right hand, and the mindand thoughts stop there. Then your overall mindand body are not in harmony because of this

conscious thought.

This attitude can also extend to collecting ingeneral. If we fixate on collecting do we becomemerely collectors? After all, at the end of the daythe swords are just swords. Yes, they are theextraordinarily beautiful antiques of our study; andyes, they do have to be cared for and preserved forfuture generations, but if we get stuck on theswords themselves, is this inhibiting our fantasticstudy of the sword?

There are many swords in major museums. Theseswords are the property of the people and can beaccessed with little effort. We do not feel the needto own these swords to appreciate them, neitherare we distracted from their beauty by worryingabout how much they are worth or whether we canafford them. It is no good for the swords to just belying in museums unappreciated; we need to studythem. It is up to us as students of the sword toinvestigate these collections and make use of them.They are not just in museums for high browacademia; they are there for care, preservation, andfor the education of the nation.

If we can adopt a more spiritual approach to ourstudy it makes other aspects of the sword moreapparent. When we approach the sword as aspiritual object of moral guidance to a samuraiseeking enlightenment, we instantly understandwhy in Japanese history the sword survived thegun. The sword was a sacred gift from the gods,intrinsically beautiful, encompassing elements ofnature. The gun on the other hand was a means toan end, a mere weapon made by and taken frombarbarians, not intrinsically beautiful, with noreligious connections. The sword was a guide tothe way and still is so to this day, not only inusage, but in viewing too.

About the Author: Paul Martin Sensei is a Japanesesword specialist. A native of England, he lived inJapan for many years, where he studied kendo,

Martin Sensei appraising an antique sword


Shudokan Martial Arts Association

PO Box 6022 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-6022

Phone: 1-734-645-6441

E-Mail: [email protected]

We’re on the Web!

Visit us at: http://smaa-hq.com

Shudokan Martial Arts Association PO Box 6022 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-6022

iaido, and several forms of ancient swordsmanship, includingOno Ha Itto Ryu. But his main area of specialty is the study,history, and appraisal of the Japanese sword as an art object.He is one of the world's foremost scholars of the Japanesesword, and he serves on the SMAA Board of Advisors.

vol. 16, issue 2 smaa journal

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